Friday, May 30, 2014

Beatnik Cafe - Herbs & Spices tape (1991)

I would have probably cast aside this San Diego trio as just another dime-a-dozen, acousti-pop also-ran were it not for mouthpiece Steve Harris who croons uncannily like Andy Sturmer of Jellyfish. Given that Herbs... was most likely a DIY demo tape, Beatnik Cafe didn't have anywhere near the resources their relatively renown contemporaries did. Nonetheless, some of these rather economical songs were angling toward Bellybutton territory, particularly "Spanish Fly," which bears the same infectious lilt as "Baby's Coming Back." Coincidence? Compared to what I normally present on W/O, the Beatniks might ring a little too clean cut and peppy to your liking, so consider yourselves warned.

01. Beatnik Cafe (demo)
02. Spanish Fly
03. Hard to Be
04. Lyin' Here Lonely
05. You Can Call on Me
06. I Know You
07. What Would You Do
08. Father's Day